My Equipment: Novation Twitch

Many of my readers have gotten the chance to see me DJ at various parties, and I thought I would take this opportunity to showcase my equipment.

One thing that must be said about my DJing is that it is wildly unconventional. I taught myself everything I know, and I am sure I do not do it correctly.

Also, unlike every other DJ on the planet, I do not do any prep work before I play my sets. A normal DJ would set up hot cues and loops ahead of time, but I do everything on the fly. This is mostly a disadvantage because it gives me less time to mess with the song playing since I am so busy setting up the next one. However, it does make every set unique and it’s more exciting.

But really, I am an idiot and should make hot cues for myself.

I use what is called a controller, different from a mixer or turntables, but honestly I can’t tell you why. Essentially, my hardware (the controller) is synced with software on my laptop, which I control from the controller. DJs could technically just use the software to mix, but the controller offers an easy interface to manipulate the music you are playing.

Disclaimer: I am in no way on expert on this.

I am still figuring out how to maximize my controller and there is still a lot to learn. So if you see my restarting my sets in the middle, it’s probably because some jerk touched something and I have no idea how to fix it.

My specific controller is called the Twitch by Novation. It is pretty state-of-the-art and much different than others out there. The software it is paired with is called Serato Itch, but it can also be mapped to work with Traktor. Watch the video!

Some similarities the Twitch has with other controllers are that it has two decks and can be maximized to play four at a time. It also has two faders and the generic low, mid, and high knobs.

One of its biggest visible differences is that it has touch strips instead of turntables. I use the strips to navigate through songs and they can also be used to scratch. I have no idea how to do that. Loop lengths and other effects can also be manipulated by moving my finger up on down the strips.

Another big difference between the Twitch and other controllers are the 16 touchpads that can switch between hot cues, auto loops, loop roll, and a feature exclusive to the Twitch called slicing. Slicing allows me to isolate eight beats of a single track and mash them up just like a beat grid.

Like other controllers, the Twitch has internal effects, including LPF, HPF, flanger, phaser, etc. But where my equipment differs is that the faders can be turned into effects knobs with the click of a button. This is pretty cool because I can effectively use three effects at the same time.

I hope you found this interesting, and as you can tell, I know very little about being a DJ.